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Hasmoneans

Introduction:

Hasmoneans
refers to the Jewish dynasty that obtained a degree of independence for
Judea beginning in the second century B.C. The Hasmonean revolt is
also referred to as the Revolt of the Maccabees when Judas the Maccabee
defeated the army of Seleucid king Antiochus IV. They dynasty ruled for
just over a century until the ascendancy of Herod the Great and ever
increasing Roman dominion over Judah. During the Hasmonean dynasty, the
first true Jewish coins appear and are a treasured collecting area for
both the serious numismatists well as those interested in biblical
history.

Persian Empire:

The Persians conquered Babylon
around 539 B.C., and allowed expelled Jews to return to their homeland
and rebuild the Temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II in 589 B.C. This
period is referred to as the Second Temple period, and lasted until the
destruction of the second Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D.. Judah was
under Persian control as the satrapy of Yehud in the Achaemenid Empire
until the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Greek Domination:

After
Alexander’s untimely death, his empire was divided between his generals
with Ptolemy I ruling Egypt and Judah, and Seleucus ruling the Syrian
empire to the north of Judah. Strategically located along the trade
routes between Arabia and Egypt in the South, and the Mediterranean
ports of the Phoenicians and Syrian trade centers in the north, Judah
was a valuable piece of real estate, and the rulers in the area coveted
the revenues that could be derived from the trade moving through the
area. The Seleucids took control of Israel from the Ptolemies, and the
land changed hands a number of times. During this period, Hellenistic
ideas spread throughout the Levant challenging the traditions of the
Jews. There were tensions between traditional and Hellenized Jews, as
well as between Jews and Hellenized outsiders. In 201, Antiochus II
invaded Palestine, and wrestled control of the territory from Ptolemy V,
just five years old at the time he took the throne.

The
Seleucids controlled Judah and surrounding territories at the time of
the Hasmonean revolt. Antiochus IV, Epiphanes unsuccessfully tried to
invade Ptolemaic Egypt, but was repelled. He then turned to increase
his control over Judea, and in 167 B.C., invaded Jerusalem and massacred
many Jews. One way of exerting his control was imposing Hellenistic
practices and suppressing Jewish cultural and religious practices. He
profaned the Temple in Jerusalem, outlawed observance of the Sabbath,
and prohibited the practice of circumcision. His actions were abhorrent
to traditional Jews and posed a direct threat to their traditional
religious worship.

Antiochus sent soldiers into the land of Judea
to enforce his prohibition against traditional Jewish practices and
spread Hellenism in the face of Jewish opposition. This sparked an
outright revolt against his policies and rule. Among modern scholars,
there is some debate if the conflict was primarily between traditional
and Hellenized Jews, or between Jews and outsiders, but whatever the
case, the revolt centered around opposition to Hellenistic encroachment
on traditional Jewish practices and the Seleucid Empire under Antiochus.

Mattathias,
a priest living near Modin, sparked the revolt against Antiochus when
he killed a Jew who was going to sacrifice to pagan gods at the
direction of Seleucid soldiers. In I Maccabees, the scene is described
as follows: “there came a certain Jew in the sight of all to sacrifice
to the idols upon the altar in the city of Modin, according to the
king's commandment. And Mattathias saw and was grieved, and
his reins trembled, and his wrath was kindled according to the judgment
of the law, and running upon him he slew him upon the altar: Moreover
the man whom king Antiochus had sent, who compelled them to sacrifice,
he slew at the same time, and pulled down the altar.” I Maccabees
2:23-25. Thus began the Revolt of the Maccabees.

Leaving all they
had behind, Mattathias and his sons escaped into the wilderness, and
from there, waged a guerrilla war against the Seleucids. The revolt was
extended, but ultimately, the Maccabees began to succeed against the
Seleucids. Around 164 B.C., Judah Maccabee, the son of Mattathias and
military leader of the revolt, took Jerusalem and purified the Temple.
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple
following this victory.

Antiochus IV died in 164 B.C., and
the Seleucids continued to try and subjugate the Jews but internal
struggles in the empire left an opening for Jewish independence. Judah
was killed in the Battle of Elasa in 160 B.C., but his brothers, Simon
and Jonathan, continued the struggle. Jonathan, the first Hasmonean
High Priest, was killed by Diodotus Tryphon, a Seleucid general,
captured Jonathan and held him hostage when he was invited to a
conference. Upon Jonathan’s death, Simon assumed leadership of the
revolt around 142 B.C.. By resolution, the people declared the
leadership of the Hasmoneans, and Simon ruled as both High Priest, and
prince of Israel. 1 Maccabees 14:41. Simon eventually gained a degree
of independence from the Seleucids and the freedom for Jews to worship
freely. He was assassinated in 135 B.C., and his son, John Hyrcanus I
became High Priest. Under John Hyrcanus I, Judaism saw expansion with
the annexation of Trans-Jordan Samaria, Galilee, and Edom. Idumeans in
Edom were forced to convert to Judaism.

The
Hasmoneans ruled Judea from circa 153 B.C. until 37 B.C., at which time
Herod the Great wrestled control of the country with the help of Rome.
The rulers under the Hasmonean dynasty are generally ordered as
follows:

End of the Dynasty:

Although
Judea gained independence under the Hasmoneans, their rule was far from
unified. The division between traditional and Hellenized Jews
continued to fester. Upon the death of Alexander Jannaeus, Queen Salome
Alexandra, ruled the land of Israel. Her oldest son, Hyrcanus II, was
named High Priest, but a civil war erupted upon the death of Alexandra
between Hyrcanus II and his brother, Aristobulus II. Hyrcanus II was
generally seen as weak and pliable, where Aristobulus II was aggressive
and politically savvy. Aristobulus II gained control, but that was not
the end of Hyrcanus II, who was advised by Antipater the Idumean to seek
the assistance of the Nabataeans under king Aretas.

This civil
war among the Jews was to cause the end of the independence they had so
dearly fought for. Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, a Roman general under
Pompey the Great, took possession of the kingdom of the Seleucids and
became involved in Judea’s civil war when each of the brothers attempted
to get his intervention on their respective sides. Pompey himself
arrived in 63 B.C., and decided to bring Judea under Roman rule. He,
like Antipater, viewed Hyrcanus as a more pliable ruler than
Aristobulus, and laid siege to Jerusalem. Upon entering the city,
Pompey entered the Temple itself, and Judea became a protectorate of
Rome.

Between 57 and 55 B.C., the Romans split the Hasmonean
kingdom into the provinces of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Antipater
and Hyrcanus supported Caesar during his conflict, and secured their
positions of power. Antigonus,, the son of Aristobulus, disfigured
Hyrcanus II making him unsuitable for the position of High Priest, and
obtained the double title of King an High Priest. Antigonus’ rule was
to be short lived however, as Herod the Great secured the title “King of
the Jews” by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C., and with the help of Roman
military support, secured his position in 37 B.C. ending the Hasmonean
rule.